JSON is [faster and more compact][1], so it is easier on the server, and [easier to parse][2] in most application languages -- while still being human-readable. Since the API is [returning data, rather than markup, JSON is a much better choice than XML][3]. If you insist on XML, there are a [great][4] [many][5] [ways][6] [to convert][7] the data yourself, without loading the API servers with extra XML baggage. [1]: http://stackoverflow.com/a/4596514/331508 [2]: http://stackoverflow.com/a/1743573/331508 [3]: http://stackoverflow.com/a/329683/331508 [4]: http://stackoverflow.com/q/1773550/331508 [5]: http://stackoverflow.com/q/856833/331508 [6]: http://stackoverflow.com/q/559296/331508 [7]: http://stackoverflow.com/q/814001/331508